europabarbarorumfandomcom-20200214-history
Eleutheroi (East Europe)
Cordinau Orca (Scordisci Elite Infantry) The Scordisci are Celtic warriors who live near Macedonia. They are famous for their use of sheering curved swords that can open wide gashes on an opponent, particularly when used by the fearsome Carduci tribe, who are most famous for them. Like the Solduros of the Gauls, in the east, the Carduci have the Cordinau Orca (Kor-dee-now Urk-ah; Battle Boars), the guardians of their chief, and fearsome, strong warriors. They are impetuous soldiers, and prone to charging without being ordered, but they are comparatively bold to many other Celtic warriors, and their bravery in combat allows them to overcome seemingly superior forces in some cases, and immense skill with their shields and swords makes them notable. Historically, the Scordisci were a rather extroverted Celtic people; they were so cosmopolitan that their enemies sometimes thought them Thracians or Illyrians. This may be because of their common alliances with the Macedonians; in fact, much of their fame spread from their service to Macedonians, and later they destroyed the army of Caius Porcius Cato, while trying to reestablish their Macedonian allies, who had become a Roman province. They were more or less defeated by Minucius Rufus in 107, but they continued to raid from near the Danube for a long time, until essentially conquered by 91 BC, when many of them fled north over the Danube or submitted to Roman rule, though they still managed to sack Delphi. The remaining Scordisci were most likely absorbed or overrun by Dacians. Boii Cingetos (Boii Swordsmen) The Boii Cingetos (Kin-jet-os; "Marchers") are professional warriors from the Boii homelands. These men fight in the familiar Celtic fashion, but carry slashing and thrusting broad-bladed swords, a weapon not so common among Celts. They are fairly well-defended from attack, with leather cuirass and good quality helmet with earguards, and a Celtic longshield. Prior to a charge, like other Celtic warriors, the Boii unleash a barrage of javelins to soften their target. In a melee, their swords are of excellent use, being highly versatile with a good slashing edge and a tapered point, good for thrusting or finding a weak spot in an enemy's armor. Further, compared to most other Celts, the Boii are more prone to stricter discipline, tempered by centuries of incessant combat with neighbors. Historically, the Boii of central and eastern Europe are one of the oldest and most numerous of the Celtic peoples, actually composed of dozens of tribes that all answer to the name Boii, either from common ancestry or from being conquered by them at some point in the past. The Boii also have the distinction of being the first people known to have called themselves Celtae. Members of their tribes also joined the Galatians on their invasions of Greece and settlement of Asia Minor. They absorbed numerous influences, as well as influenced their neighbors, causing them to diverge somewhat in appearance from the Celts of western Europe. Kludda Lugiae (Lugian Swordsmen) The La Tene Celts were extremely skilled iron workers. One of their greater weapons produced were the two-handed swords; a Celtic longsword with an elongated grip and a heavier blade. Used mainly by the Lugians, they also were used rarely by Gauls, and a modified, heavier weight version was used by the Britons. The Kludda Lugiae ("Swords of the Lugians") are not necessarily the best outfitted, but their sword is good quality, and can do a great amount of damage. They require great mobility and space to use, meaning the wielders don't organize into lines, but throw themselves at the enemy in a wide-spaced group. They were employed by many of the barbarian peoples who would take control of those regions their swords were produced in, for their great effectiveness, and the veteran status of these warriors ensured they worked hard, and weren't afraid of combat. Historically, La Tene two-handed swords were used in several regions, but were not overly popularized. They were expensive, and difficult to make, and the method of using such weapons often disallowed the wearing of much armor, due to the width of the swings, which required one to have good mobility around the shoulders. A variant of these swords was used by the wealthiest of Britons, who were armored. However, Lugians, wore lighter padding or leather, or even no armor at all. They would be utilized as shock soldiers, using their swords to attack large numbers of lighter armed infantry, striking several opponents in wide swings. Karotovas (Oksywie Culture Swordsmen) The Karotovas (Kar-ot-oh-vus; 'Fighting Men') are the wealthier warriors of some of the tribes around the south of the Baltic sea, and in neighboring regions. Possessing neither great amounts of armor or iron weapons, these men are special. They carry decently made unique slashing swords, and can hit with a powerful, if heavily disordered charge. Due to disorder, they can be prone to charging at their own wont, regardless of prudence. Historically, the early Baltic tribes varied widely in how developed they were. The southern Balts though, such as proto-Lithuanians and their neighbors, developed faster, being close to iron-working societies. The Oksywie culture of northern Poland was especially developing, along with the neighboring Przeworsk people. The result was Baltic and near-Baltic tribes of looser relationship to Germans and Celts than most other eastern European tribes, but with a more developed military than other Baltic tribes. Marholeudiz Wolhiskoz (Celto-Germanic Cavalry) The Marholeudiz Wolhiskoz (MARH-o-LEUD-iz UWOLH-isk-oz, "East Celt Warhorse-Vassal") are an effective medium cavalry, drawn primarily from Germanic horsemen who have migrated into Celtic areas, and their descendents. They are bold horsemen, with skill in both skirmishing and melee, and are more heavily armored than their counterparts to the north, having benefited from their exposure to, and intermingling with, the cavalry contingents of subjugated and allied Celtic nations. With a simple breastplate and helmet enhancing their fierceness, they have staying power in melee against most other regular cavalry, but their javelins enable them to skirmish as well. They are best used to secure dominance in pre-battle skirmishing and on the flanks, before being used to break up weakened enemy formations. Historically, the cavalry of the Bononians, Pannonians, and Noricenes were slightly more heavily armored than most of their Germanic counterparts. Grave finds and depictions in art give us some idea of the sort of weapons they carried: simple breastplates and a variety of helmet types were the order of the day. When the Cimbri and Teutons migrated into the lands of the Lugians and Bononians, they allied with some of those eastern Celts and defeated others. When their armies eventually encountered the Romans, the description of their cavalry passed on through Roman history describes the material influence of the eastern Celts on the migrating Germanic tribes. If a Swebozez war leader can lead his warriors into the lands of the powerful east Celtic kingdoms, his own knightly warriors, the knightly aristocracy of the defeated Celts, and the descendants of both, can combine to form an effective cavalry force. Category:Eleutheroi